Treasure Hunter—November 2014: Holiday Gaming Season Madness (Part 3)

We are coming to the home stretch with the final batch of game releases for November. (And I get to do this all over again in December.) Unlike yesterday’s column, today is filled with a list of highly anticipated games that launched with very few hitches. If November seemed light on RPGs, don’t worry here are quite a few worth looking forward to. This time I roll the dice as I get into the meat of World of Warcraft, Dragon Age, Super Smash Bros., LittleBigPlanet 3, Far Cry 4, and Persona Q.

 

World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor Collector’s Edition | Release: November 13 | Price: $89.99 | Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment

Just when you thought World of Warcraft was in decline, the Warlords of Draenor expansion arrives. This latest iteration of Warcraft is all MMORPG fans have been talking about, lately. (Unless they’re still busy with the last Final Fantasy XIV update.) In this newest WoW the Iron Horde is on a roll as Garrosh Hellscream has reunited with Grommash in the past. The two are forging the orcs of Draenor into a vicious war machine and it falls to Azeroth’s heroes to stop the threat. The World of Warcraft Warlords of Draenor Collector’s Edition is packed with a full-color hardcover art book, the soundtrack on CD, a WoW branded mousepad, behind the scenes features on blu-ray and various digital goodies. To be honest, this collector’s edition is nicer than most console game collector’s editions and is slightly cheaper.

 

Dragon Age Inquisition | Release: November 18 | Price: $69.99 | Publisher: Electronic Arts

Dragon Age: Origins was well-received when it was released in 2009. Dragon Age II didn’t fair so well, as RPG fans decried its sharp departure from the gameplay mechanics of Origins, and the smaller world. Unsurprisingly, fans were apprehensive when Bioware announced Dragon Age: Inquisition. It turns out fans had very little to worry about as the reception has been overwhelmingly positive. Inquisition takes place ten years after the events of Dragon Age II in the land of Thedas. A war has broken out between the mages and the Templars, throwing the world into chaos. It is up to the player (as head of the Inquisition) to quell the war before the world destroys itself. The Dragon Age Inquisition Deluxe Edition costs $10 more than the standard edition, but it includes a digital version of the entire soundtrack, as well as numerous pieces of exclusive DLC.

 

LittleBigPlanet 3 | Release: November 18 | Price: $59.99 | Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Oh, LittleBigPlanet, how you’ve fallen from the spotlight. The original LBP was a big deal when it was released on the PS3, and there was a lot of interest surrounding LittleBigPlanet 2. Much of that has changed with LittleBigPlanet 3, despite it being a PS4 exclusive. It could be the market is saturated with the more popular Minecraft, or perhaps Sony shouldn’t have released the game during November. Either way, no one is talking about LBP 3, except to say they forgot it even existed. This PS4 exclusive is more of the same world building from previous games, but it does introduce new characters with new abilities. Fans who pre-ordered LittleBigPlanet 3 from GameStop had a SackBoy plushie included as a bonus item. If you still want a SackBoy, they are readily available on eBay, although they are from previous games.

 

Far Cry 4 Kyrat Edition | Release: November 18 | Price: $129.99 | Publisher: Ubisoft

The Far Cry series has been around for ten years, but it made serious waves in 2012 with the release of Far Cry 3. In Far Cry 4 the series moves from islands in the Pacific to the Himalayas. The fictional country of Kyrat is ruled by dictator named Pagan Min. Ahay Ghale is caught up in the war to overthrow Min after traveling to Kryat to bury his late mother’s ashes. The Far Cry 4 Kryat Edition is loaded with goodies for fans of the franchise. It contains the Limited Edition of the game with bonus DLC, a 7.9 inch figure of Pagan Min, a large propaganda poster of Min, a travel journal, a map of Kyrat, and a collector’s box to house everything in.

 

Super Smash Bros. Bundle | Release: November 21 | Price: $99.99-Varies | Publisher: Nintendo of America

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U is another hotly anticipated game for the console. Earlier this year the Wii U got a much needed boost with the release of Mario Kart 8. It is only fitting that Super Smash Bros. finish out the year during the holiday season. This installment of the fighting game franchise has finally made the leap to HD, and even features up to eight playable characters. Oddly enough, the only Super Smash Bros. bundle I’m writing about is the GameCube controller with a special adapter, and a copy of the game. The time for a special Wii U console would’ve been ripe this holiday season, but Nintendo of America follows its own logic. As of this writing the controller bundles are hard to find in stores, but are easy to find on eBay if you’re willing to pay above the original MSRP.

 

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth | Release: November 25 | Price: $49.99, $79.99 or $199.99 | Publisher: Altus

Persona Q: Shadow of the Labyrinth is here, and well, I’m fighting the temptation to spend all of my free time playing the game. Anyway, Geoff has written quite a bit about this fusion of Persona 3/4 and the Etrian Odyssey series. Not counting the Persona 4 Arena games, fans are getting the major crossover game they’ve always wanted. In Persona Q there’s a rumor that involves the “Seven Wonders of Yasogami High,” a clock tower, and a mysterious labyrinth that appears on school grounds in Inaba. When the bell chimes the Investigation Team finds they’re trapped in the school. The clock tower’s bell chime can also be heard in Tartarus by the members of SEES. The SEES members are transported to Yasogami High. The Investigation Team meets the members of SEES while exploring a labyrinth under the school. Persona Q’s release comes in several varieties. Anyone who buys a first print edition of the game will receive the second half of a set of tarot cards. (The first half of the cards were a pre-order bonus for anyone who bought Persona 4 Arena: Ultimax.) The Wild Cards Premium Edition contains a ton of goodies including the tarot cards, a PQ-branded 3DS case, a full-color 38-page art book, CD sample of the game’s soundtrack, and a special box to hold the collection in. The Premium edition costs $30 more than the standard edition. Finally, Nintendo and Atlus have released a special PQ themed 3DS XL for $200, which sadly does not contain a copy of the game. (Click to see a picture of the 3DS.)

If you missed the previous articles in this series, part one is here and part two is here.

 

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have some more time to put in with my copy of Persona Q!